HP might be preparing a change of logo

SELLER OF EXPENSIVE PRINTER INK HP could be preparing a change of logo as it seeks to revitalise the business that it seemed to want to distance itself from just a few months ago.

Under Leo Apotheker's leadership you might have been forgiven for thinking that the company had become reluctant to touch any of its businesses with a barge pole.

It killed off its line of gadgets based on the costly WebOS, kicked out its tablets in fire sales, and even suggested that it might drop the PC business. Crazy stuff for a company that had always been dependably reliable.

Now though, under CEO Meg Whitman HP seems to be gathering itself back together and drawing in on itself. The firm appears to be returning to its roots, and is unlikely, we would have thought, to do anything that would make its shareholders say, "Say what? It's done what?"

Therefore we don't quite know what to make of the prospective new logo apparently up for consideration by the firm and shown on the underconsideration.com web site.

The new logo looks like the old logo that has been printed on a basic printer that is running out of ink. Gone is the HP we knew and in its place are a few downwards slashing lines that do resemble the old logo, but only as much as they resemble four broken matches. In some glances it looks like someone is flipping the bird, but downwards.

Moving Brands is the beards and spectacles new thinking business that has been awarded the opportunity to think about how HP could look if it rebrands itself. Nothing is concrete, but the firm has blogged about what it is doing. At least, it had been.

"We have removed the HP case study per the request of HP, in order to clarify the distinction between the aspects of the work that were setting a creative vision for the brand but were not implemented in the market, and the aspects which reflect the actual in-market applications of the Identity and Design System," says a message where the forward thinking once was displayed. "The 'Progress mark' logo is not the go-forward direction for HP."

We have asked HP to comment.

UpdateHP has responded to our request for comment and confirmed that it did work with the company on "various elements" of its brand identity. However, it seems that all this was some time ago.

"In 2008, HP asked marketing agency Moving Brands to propose new ideas for various elements of HP's brand identity, including fonts, graphics, and logos," said a spokesperson over email.

"HP is one of the world's most valuable brands and has no plans to adopt the new logo proposed by Moving Brands. HP did implement some of the other design elements shown in the case study." µ